Spore: Galactic Edition Review

Spore is undoubtedly an amazing accomplishment; it's just not quite an amazing game.

And then there's Space Stage, which is by far the largest stage in the game, and the stage that is the widest open in terms of gameplay. Space is, as crazy as it sounds, a single-player massively multiplayer game. You can start flying around the galaxy, visiting a crazy number of stars and planets, some of which are barren but others supporting life in different stages. You can establish colonies on other worlds, extending the size of your empire. You can terraform planets to support life, or mold them like a giant piece of clay. You can get missions to pursue from neighboring empires. You can get into space battles, or you can crush a primitive species. You can abduct creatures from one planet and transplant them to another. In other words, you can basically play as a god, and that's always a nice rush. The space stage is the deepest part of Spore, which makes sense considering that it's also longer than all the other stages combined.

The entire campaign makes for a dizzying trip through millions of years of evolution. Thankfully, once you play through the game you can start on a new planet at any stage that you wish, so if you liked the Space Stage, just go ahead and start there. What you will miss is the timeline of your creature's evolution, as well as the ability to mold and shape your creature through the decisions that you make. Whether you choose a peaceful or a warlike path, the game rewards you with special abilities that you can use. Playing through the game does give you a sense of working your way through the ages. I got a thrill watching my little Poker creatures (named for their primitive, mosquito-like snout) crush their opposition and launch into the stars after a long struggle out of the muck.

The timeline charts your progress.

It's worth noting just how easy it is to play Spore. Save for using the keyboard to type in the names of the things that you build in the many editors or searching for content in the Sporepedia, you can play almost the entirety of Spore just using the mouse. It's an incredibly accessible game to pick up and play, and the hefty manual that comes in the box as well as the helpful hints will get even a novice up and running quickly.

Like all Maxis games, Spore is infused with charm. The colors in the game are vibrant and warm, and even the most sinister monster ends up looking a bit cute thanks to the art design. The game ran smoothly on my admittedly high-end system, and it was rock-solid stable, never crashing. I can't even think of a single bug. Meanwhile, humor and wit are deeply embedded in Maxis' DNA, and it shows. I stumbled upon two tribe members having a Sims-style discussion, with thought bubbles over their heads and icons representing what they were talking about. They seemed intent on discussing the universe and god, and in this case, god is apparently Will Wright's head. Another hilarious and surreal moment came during the Creature Stage, when in the midst of doing the friendly dance a UFO appeared overhead and began kidnapping the panicked creatures below with its abduction beam. The sounds and music are also classic Maxis. Every chirp and warble that your creatures make seems authentic, and the dialogue sounds like alien versions of the Simlish that we've come to love. The music seems minimalist at times. When combat kicks in, the drums pound and get your blood pressure up. Yet at other times, the music takes a back seat to the sounds of your creatures' feet pounding on fresh grass and other sounds of nature.

The Sporepedia lets you access an entire galaxy of content.

The Verdict

I think that Maxis has made an impressive product that does so many
incredible things. Spore will serve as an introduction to gaming for
many; it's clear that many nontraditional gamers will check it out. As
such, this feels sort of like a sampler plate to gaming, introducing
newcomers to the different types of gameplay out there. But much
more than that, Spore will make you think about science, and when
was the last time you could say that about a game? It'll inspire people
to learn more about the universe and imagine what's possible out
there. Spore also pushes the idea of user-generated content to
incredible new heights; this is a game where users will make the vast
majority of things that you encounter, and this creation and sharing is
done seamlessly. The Galactic Edition of Spore carries a $20 premium over the regular edition, and it's an attractive package that includes a National Geographic special related to Spore, a "Making of Spore" DVD, and an art book. However, these extras don't affect the gameplay at all.

Yet, while Spore is an amazing product, it's just not quite an amazing
game. I can't help but feel that Spore is ambitious and memorable, but
I also admit that, save for the cool Space Stage, there's not a lot of
depth here. Rookie gamers are going to feel at home here, but veteran
gamers may feel like they need more. Still, Spore proves to be one of
the most unique products in recent memory, one that reaches for the
stars and ends up giving us a universe in a box.